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Dallas | BBQ


C-Man

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One of my best friends made the pick.  He generally knows his shit.  He did some punch card thing (Texas Monthly?) where he was able to hit all but something like 3 of the Top 50 or 100 in the state.  (Sorry, forgot the specifics.) As noted on another thread, I'm pretty damn FAR from a food snob.  I'll generally eat anything that I know has been cooked all the way.  This bbq was - quite literally - chewy like some sort of meat taffy.  
Coopers by the Stock Yards, was the only other BBQ that I've had issues with.  I got brisket, beef ribs, and something else.  The first two items were so overly salted, I couldn't finish them.  


Cooper’s can go really heavy on the salt for some reason.
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Don’t you live in Austin?
And holy shit y’all must have had a much different experience than I had at Peggy Sue’s last time I ate there.  It was god awful 


It’s mainly nostalgia for the Parkies. I started going in the late 90’s/early 00’s before Dallas had much in the way of top-notch BBQ.
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Especially when it comes to BBQ.  I swear it’s the one food that either you’ve had the good stuff and know what you’re talking about or you haven’t and you don’t.

If there aren’t recent pictures on the review from non owners, I don’t trust a damn word on a review of bbq places. Fortunately bbq is one thing you can just look at a picture and tell right away, especially a brisket slice.
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Took the boy to Heim for lunch today. The brisket was dry AF. It was Dickey’s-level bad. Everything else was spot-on — this was the first time I tried the ribs and pulled pork. Both were really tasty. But the brisket was not good at all after being outstanding in my other three trips.

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1 hour ago, Stunns38 said:

c8de60cbd2ddcbde45c4bb9102734656.jpg
I wouldn’t eat this for free.

I pop into the Sonny Bryan's on Lovers from time to time for an easy meal that the kids will eat on a weeknight. It's not terrible. The turkey is good -- and great for school lunches later in the week. The "Texas Hill Country" brisket is not awful. The sides are pretty good. I like the green beans a lot.

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2 hours ago, Stunns38 said:

c8de60cbd2ddcbde45c4bb9102734656.jpg
I wouldn’t eat this for free.

 

37 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I pop into the Sonny Bryan's on Lovers from time to time for an easy meal that the kids will eat on a weeknight. It's not terrible. The turkey is good -- and great for school lunches later in the week. The "Texas Hill Country" brisket is not awful. The sides are pretty good. I like the green beans a lot.

Yeah. Sonny Bryan's is pretty passable, Rudy's-level que. Always felt like it's more of a place where you go and get a "meal" like a sandwich or a few different meats and some sides. I'd never go there and just pick up 2 LB of brisket like I would at an actual BBQ place.

And L oh fucking L at that pick of Oak'd. Everything on that plate has a plasticky, californiaesque look to it - including the pickles, onions and japs that look like they'd be better suited behind a craft cocktail bar than on a plate of BBQ.

Edited by ztejas
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18 hours ago, ztejas said:

 

Yeah. Sonny Bryan's is pretty passable, Rudy's-level que. Always felt like it's more of a place where you go and get a "meal" like a sandwich or a few different meats and some sides. I'd never go there and just pick up 2 LB of brisket like I would at an actual BBQ place.

And L oh fucking L at that pick of Oak'd. Everything on that plate has a plasticky, californiaesque look to it - including the pickles, onions and japs that look like they'd be better suited behind a craft cocktail bar than on a plate of BBQ.

I remember many years ago Sonny Bryan’s on Harry Hines was a great place to go and get a brisket sandwich and onion rings (mind you, I’m talking late 80s-early 90s).  The other non-chain options were the original Baker’s Ribs in Deep Ellum, and Peggy Sue.  We thought these were good because the other options were places like  Dickey’s, Colters and at some point Rudy’s.  Oh — and Spring Creek and Red Hot and Blue (ugh).  In Fort Worth it was Angelo’s, Riscky’s and Cousins. MId-CIties had North Main, which was great only because it was all you can eat.   We nitpick about bbq now because we can, and have better choices, but didn’t really know that Sonny Bryan’s and Bakers were just OK.

Not that different in Austin (where I live now).  15 years ago there was Mueller’s on Manor, when he showed up and had meat.  Franklin’s trailer didn’t hit until 2009.  Austin was a bbq wasteland. You had to go to Lockhart or Taylor.  I remember thinking that Salt Lick was really good (it’s not terrible, just not as good as it seemed at the time.  More about hanging out and drinking beer).

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3 minutes ago, C-Man said:

 


Even on its worst day, Heim is light-years better than OG Sonny Bryan’s.

 

I haven't had OG Sonny Bryan's in 30+ years.  I've gotten sammiches from the one on Lovers, mostly sausage.  Saright.

OG Dickeys is light years ahead of any of the other Dickeys locations, I'll stop in a pinch.

I need to reevaluate OG Sonny's.  We used to go with my grandmother and sit at the desks, so that nostalgia is worthwhile.

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I haven't had OG Sonny Bryan's in 30+ years.  I've gotten sammiches from the one on Lovers, mostly sausage.  Saright.
OG Dickeys is light years ahead of any of the other Dickeys locations, I'll stop in a pinch.
I need to reevaluate OG Sonny's.  We used to go with my grandmother and sit at the desks, so that nostalgia is worthwhile.

There used to be a Sonny Bryan’s in the tunnel by my office. They closed down at the end of last year.

In the 12 years I’ve been at this location I think went there less than 5 times.
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6 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:


There used to be a Sonny Bryan’s in the tunnel by my office. They closed down at the end of last year.

In the 12 years I’ve been at this location I think went there less than 5 times.

I forgot we used to go to the one in the "near" west end quite a bit when I officed downtown.  I don't remember it being gross af, nor spectacularly terrific, either.

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Will preface this by saying brisket and pulled pork were good, turkey was meh and didn’t try sausage and ribs but they didn’t get good reviews from others, but wasn’t overly impressed with Hurtado.  
 

Ordered online for 2 El Jeffe plates and 1/2 lb brisket, looking back, think we got shorted on the brisket and sides were to be included but we were charged for them when doing online order, and they weren’t all that good either.  IMO, Pecan Lodge remains better.  
 

Anyone try Slow Bone on Irving Blvd?  It’s behind our hotel and bought a bit of brisket and turkey and both were pretty good.  

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Will preface this by saying brisket and pulled pork were good, turkey was meh and didn’t try sausage and ribs but they didn’t get good reviews from others, but wasn’t overly impressed with Hurtado.  
 
Ordered online for 2 El Jeffe plates and 1/2 lb brisket, looking back, think we got shorted on the brisket and sides were to be included but we were charged for them when doing online order, and they weren’t all that good either.  IMO, Pecan Lodge remains better.  
 
Anyone try Slow Bone on Irving Blvd?  It’s behind our hotel and bought a bit of brisket and turkey and both were pretty good.  

My buddy’s plate, he said it was legit and some of the best in DFW. Hurtados may just be inconsistent and he caught them on a good day.

7416c927b69d21e07268830f7ac58c35.jpg
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On 12/1/2020 at 10:13 PM, Stunns38 said:


My buddy’s plate, he said it was legit and some of the best in DFW. Hurtados may just be inconsistent and he caught them on a good day.

7416c927b69d21e07268830f7ac58c35.jpg

And I'd take your friend's word for it over mine.  Here's what we ordered... 

hurtado.jpg

hurtado1.jpg

Again, thought the brisket and pulled pork were good.  I'm not a fan of sausage and the only ribs I like come from Smitty's. 

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Another trip to Heim for lunch today and another disappointing experience with the brisket. I ordered a 2-meat plate with brisket and this time the pepperjack sausage with beans and fries as my sides. I got lean cut brisket (I tend to get the lean at the craft places because they're using prime and it's usually the right mix of fat and moistness -- the fatty can be too rich at times). At any rate, it was Dickey's quality and I hate to say that. Everything else was stellar.

The takeaway here is get the moist brisket. I want to love Heim because of geography but it's a clear step behind Terry Black's and Cattleack for sure and probably Pecan Lodge too.

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46 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Another trip to Heim for lunch today and another disappointing experience with the brisket. I ordered a 2-meat plate with brisket and this time the pepperjack sausage with beans and fries as my sides. I got lean cut brisket (I tend to get the lean at the craft places because they're using prime and it's usually the right mix of fat and moistness -- the fatty can be too rich at times). At any rate, it was Dickey's quality and I hate to say that. Everything else was stellar.

The takeaway here is get the moist brisket. I want to love Heim because of geography but it's a clear step behind Terry Black's and Cattleack for sure and probably Pecan Lodge too.

I think you just wanted to say "moistness"

I told you their brisket sucked

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On 12/4/2020 at 12:33 PM, Firemans4Horn said:

I’ve learned the hard way that to go bbq is never as good as on-site. 

Agree, though I have them just give me an unsliced slab of brisket — places are generally pretty good at cutting, say, a 1 1/2 pound chunk, which I then slice at home.  Same on ribs — just tell them how many you want but tell them not to slice them individually.

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